PragerU announced an exciting new partnership with Arizona’s Department of Education on Wednesday which will allow PragerU Kids curriculum to be accessible in all private, charter, and public schools in the state.
The nonprofit organization created a series of educational cartoons and resources to educate students on a variety of topics such as “civics, American history, and financial literacy,” through PragerU Kids. The material is now available to educators while in school in Florida, Texas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Montana, and Arizona — but expects to expand the program to several other states soon. PragerU Kids website even states that students in New Hampshire can “earn high school credit by completing our Cash Course module through the state’s Learn Everywhere program.”
PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told TPUSA that “Amazingly, we’re in many, many different states.”
“Additional states will probably arise as we continue to hear from constituents. My vision, again, is to be in every state,” Streit added. She insisted that even in states where “teachers’ unions control so many of the elected politicians,” PragerU will “show up — because we are bringing the power back to the people.”
Some reports have called the expansion of PragerU curriculum “abnormal, and even alarming,” despite several nonprofit organizations on the left similarly installing progressive classroom resources in K-12 schools around the country. Planned Parenthood and The Trevor Project, for example, provide educational resources primarily centered around sexual education, LGBTQ+ “support,” and “inclusive lesson plans.” The Trevor Project’s website even provides a “quick escape” button for students scrolling who may want to quickly hide the material, which starkly opposes the PragerU Kids resources, which are tailored-made for parents, educators, and students, prioritizing the utmost transparency.
The Arizona Department of Education Superintendent for Public Instruction, Tom Horne, emphasized at the press conference, however, that this material will not be mandated for educators, but rather, will offer parents and instructors an alternative.
“[I]t’s all optional. We’re not requiring anything,” Horne told reporters. “We’re just making these things available and calling attention to them as something that’s more objective or as an alternative to what they’re doing.”
Arizona was recently ranked one of the worst states in the nation for public education, receiving an “abysmal proficiency rating of 38%,” according to Jake Hoffman, the state Senator for Arizona’s 15th district.
“Government-run schools are currently failing Arizona children,” state Senator Hoffman told press conference attendees on Wednesday. “Our state spends 16.5 billion dollars into educating about 1 million students,” he said.
“[G]iving children the greatest educational opportunities is in the best interest of this state,” he added.“That means school choice, but that also means empowering our school districts to teach truthful, real, honest education.”
Several school teachers attended the event to show their support for PragerU’s advancement into the state. Streit emphasized the importance of giving educators not only permission but the support to share content from conservative sources, telling TPUSA, “When [teachers] show up, they whispered to me, and I’m like, ‘I know why you’re whispering.’ You’re whispering because you don’t want to be penalized.”
“I think this day is so significant and so important because now they know we can find each other. Now we can find each other and you know how powerful it is when you find other people who can stand right by you, but that the [teachers] unions, the bureaucrats, [they] have done everything possible to keep us divided from one another,” Streit added.
The PragerU CEO and show host said that public education is focused on making young Americans “Fearful, complacent, [and] government reliant,” and said, “This is a moment that’s going to change [that].”
PragerU Kids resources are available to students, educators, and parents around the country, and can be easily accessed alongside supplemental educational material such as those additionally offered by Turning Point Academy.
